Letters to the Editor for Aug. 14

I do not believe that Capital Medical Center should be allowed to perform elective angioplasty.

Last year my next door neighbor in Florence, Ariz., had elective angioplasty and something went wrong. Her heart stopped and fortunately the hospital she was at had a full cardio unit and when she went code blue, they sprang into action.

She is alive today because the Mesa hospital had a cardio unit. If this had happened at Capital Medical Center, who knows.

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The letters regarding Christianity and our political system suffer from forcing a complex issue into a brief space. Regardless, I will endeavor to comment.

While our founding fathers clearly separated church and state, as did Jesus when he said “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God,” they remained Christian. They built and attended Christian churches.

I am astounded by claims, as expressed by Bruce Robinson of Shelton, that our founders are seen avoiding “biblical atrocities”, as though all atrocities arise from Christianity or Judaism. What about Roman atrocities, or Hun atrocities, or Nordic atrocities, or Communist atrocities, and so on?

Humans were granted the privilege of choice by their Creator. They have frequently made poor choices whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist, agnostic and even humanist. It is not Christianity that is wrong, but the weakness of individual Christians or groups of Christians making wrong choices that allow evil to happen in the name of Christianity. Our founders recognized that the power of rulers combined with the power of Christianity had led to great evil. That is what they tried to prevent. They did not condemn Christianity. We were founded as a Christian nation. I wish we could live up to our Christian roots in which the first commandment is to love God and the second to love your neighbor — including your enemies.

KATHLEEN MANNING, Olympia

Military doesn’t like dissent

The Olympian reported that Olympia Port Militarization Resistance member Brendan Maslauskas Dunn discovered that another member of OlyPMR, John Jacob, was actually a civilian employee at Fort Lewis, John J. Towery.

If the OlyPMR claims prove to be correct, Towery infiltrated the OlyPMR, gathered information about them, and passed on that information to agencies at the local, state, federal, and military level. Welcome to the world of “fusion centers.”

The ACLU has investigated federal funding of intelligence gathering centers with multiple jurisdictions. The ACLU has raised the question as to whom or what regulates such intelligence gathering.

I find it sadly ironic that many so-called “patriotic” Americans claim this country stands for “liberty and freedom,” “free speech,” and are advocates of “small government” seem to find dissent as un-American. Yet fusion centers bring the capacity of multiple branches of the government — including the military — to gather and share information about ordinary people who have committed no crime other than perhaps the tendency to question our government.

Why would the government spend our tax dollars gathering intelligence on American citizens? The answer is simple. Those Americans you dare challenge or question the power of the state are the enemy within. Whether he ever admits it or not, John J. Towery, who Fort Lewis admits “performs sensitive work within the installation law enforcement community,” no doubt agreed to commit domestic spying as a service to this country. Dissent is essentially a crime is this country, and has been for a long time.

CAMERON MILLER, Elma

These two are proven civic leaders

I write to urge eligible voters to cast a ballot in the upcoming primary. This is a critical primary for the city of Olympia. Due to the anemic economy, tax revenues are greatly reduced. The cutbacks in services occurring might only be a precursor to the immediate future.

City Council candidates Jeff Kingsbury and Amy Tousley understand that a thriving business community provides the revenues that pay for these services. Many of the candidates in opposition are running double-issue campaigns. They disagree with the repeal of the Nuclear Free Ordinance, and they vehemently oppose lifting height restrictions on the isthmus. Even if you agree with one or both of these issues, I ask you to consider whether candidates who fanatically embrace these ideologies will return Olympia to the days of fractionalized, radical council government that prohibits a reasoned vision for Olympia’s future. Do these candidates have the skills to manage the budget and make informed decisions critical to the health of our city?

Serious fiscal accountability and a vision toward building a healthy, revitalized downtown are the keys to keeping Olympia vibrant. Kingsbury has proved his leadership skills as a responsible and effective councilman. Amy Tousley, a 12-year veteran of the Olympia Planning Commission, also has a clear understanding of complex city issues. Both candidates have shown a passion for public service through many years of community involvement. Your vote matters. Join me in voting in the primary for Kingsbury and Tousley for the future of Olympia.